


When Will We Get Our Happy Ending?

by Erin_Ravenseeker



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous-Gender Frisk, Gen, Multi, Other, Suffering, Suicidal Thoughts, Undertale Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-07-11 03:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7026790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erin_Ravenseeker/pseuds/Erin_Ravenseeker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk has completed the Pacifist Route once again, free of Chara's control. But they aren't satisfied. So when they see Asriel after he is defeated, they decide to go for one more RESET, ripping Asriel and Chara out of their original time as Toriel and Asgore's children, and taking the two back with them, to go through their journey together. How much more of a bad time can they have, after all?</p><p>~HIATUS FOR AN UNDETERMINED TIME BECAUSE I'M HORRIBLE AND LAZY: I SWEAR I WILL CONTINUE THIS AGAIN SOMETIME~</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. RESET - Patch of Golden Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! I just want to say before I start, thank you for reading! This is my first proper fanfic of anything and although I have written stories before I hope I can make this just as good. I'm using my own headcanons I've picked up from places to make this, so if you don't like them please bear with me. I can't guarantee that this is going to be the best ever Undertale story you've read but I hope it will suffice. Enjoy!

F I L E 1 R E S E T  
You opened your eyes. The shade of yellow that flooded them was familiar to you by now. You waited for a minute to let your memories settle down as your other senses came online. You were here again. Back at the start. You’d RESET, but you couldn’t really remember why. It would come back to you, you knew from previous experience. You took a shaky breath. Good, you could feel your body and it was working. Your last run had been pacifist, right? It had been completely free of Chara’s influence, surprisingly. You didn’t kill anyone. You made friends. You went on dates. You died. And died. And died. You went to the True Lab. You SAVEd your friends. You got that happy ending. So why did you RESET? Was it Chara again? You shuddered slightly in fear and pity. You couldn’t quite remember.  
“Frisk, wake up!” Your ears perked up. Someone was calling your name. Toriel? But she wouldn’t know yet, right? After all, you were supposed to meet her today. You thought desperately. Flowey? He’d always been in the next room, even after all these RESETs, so you doubted he’d change his mind. Sans? You instantly show that thought from your mind. Sans would know if you’d RESET, but he wouldn’t sound as concerned as that voice did. He despised you for all the RESETs, you knew. You were safe for a day or two after you RESET, even if he knew, but then his memories would come back. He’d remember all the previous timelines, and everything that happened. How you’d followed Chara’s instructions and killed his brother. How you’d killed him. Guilt pitted at the bottom of your stomach.  
“Frisk, you lazybones, get up!” You were distracted from your thoughts. You figured you could move now. Carefully you placed your palms face-down beneath your shoulders and half pushed, half rolled over. You froze in surprise.  
“Yay, you’re awake!” Asriel exclaimed, cheering. He was in his original kid form, eyes sparkling. His ears flopped around with every movement he made, and his paws were buried in the flowers and covered in dirt. He wore the same green and yellow striped jumper he always wore. His fangs made him kinda cute when he smiled though, you thought.  
“Finally, jesus!” Chara exclaimed. They looked like your twin, but their skin was much paler and their cheeks pinker. Their eyes glittered red, and their hair was only a little bit wilder than yours. They also wore one of Asriel’s green and yellow jumpers, seeing as when they fell they had to borrow Asriel’s clothes. You remembered what happened, but you still weren’t comfortable with it. Now you and Chara both had the ability to SAVE, LOAD and RESET, but you weren’t sure you trusted them with it. However, they were happy staying with Asriel, who unfortunately remembered everything from when he was a flower and felt very sorry about it, and you supposed as long as Asriel would be happy they wouldn’t do anything rash. Neither of you were sure exactly how the power worked now that you shared it.  
At least remembering what happened made you relax. Asriel almost tackled you to the ground in a hug. You two started to laugh. Chara rolled their eyes and smiled slightly. Good. This was good.  
Footsteps came around the corner, and a confused Toriel stopped to see three children with bright smiles lying in a bed of flowers and laughing.

***  
Sans' eyes snapped open. His head ached, his left eye socket pulsing. He lay in bed for a while, breathing heavily. Despite having just woken up, he was exhausted. Once he had calmed and the pain had faded, the skeleton dragged himself out of bed, groaning.  
"damn kid reset again..." he muttered, pulling his jacket on. "back to square one in this stupid game." After a minute he checked outside. It was definitely day, or at least what qualified as such in the Underground. He made his way downstairs to find Papyrus making breakfast.  
"BROTHER!" Papyrus said cheerfully. "YOU HAVE AWAKENED LATE YET AGAIN, I SEE! FEAR NOT, AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS CREATED THE MORNING MEAL!"  
"sorry. guess i'm just a lazy*bones*," Sans said, his sleepy grin growing wider. Papyrus made a very annoyed sound, and responded no further. Sans chuckled to hide his silent concern. Going from his 'memory' of this timeline, it was now the day the kid arrived, but in every timeline up until now Papyrus hadn't made breakfast. Sans decided not to let this change bother him too much, and they eventually went out to hunt a human. Just like any other timeline, right? Just like any other timeline...

***  
It was all the same. Toriel left you, Chara and Asriel alone in the hall room while she took care of a few things. As soon as she was gone, you left as well. You all raided the bowl of Monster Candy, managing to grab all of it before the bowl tipped over. Asriel prevented Chara from killing anything while you SPAREd the monsters that tried to fight you. The puzzles were the same. You silently encouraged the mouse to get to the cheese eventually. Napstablook showed off his “dapper blook”, which even managed to amuse Chara. Chara made you wear the Faded Ribbon as a cute bowtie, much to Asriel’s amusement. You bought some spider donuts at the spider bake sale in the room down and off to the right. You didn’t stop Chara from picking up the Toy Knife when you got to the overview of New Home, but you all sat down to take in the scenery. You were intercepted at the front of Toriel’s house, where she asked you how you’d managed to make it so far. You all just smiled. You SAVEd in front, and went inside together.  
The house was different, though. It was only some minor changes at first, but the biggest change was when she brought you into one room to sleep. She only had one bed, and there were barely any clothes in the cupboard. Most of them seemed to be ones Toriel outgrew. You couldn’t help but wonder about Chara and Asriel’s clothes. She apologised for the lack of sleeping destinations. You all decided to share a bed anyway.  
When you left your room, Toriel served you some pie. Strange, in all the previous timelines it had burnt but that didn’t seem to be the case now. She only served up half though. When you all went to bed, Toriel read you a night-time story. You waited awake until she was asleep.  
“I don’t like it,” Chara said flatly after a long silence. You was startled, jolting back from whatever you were thinking of. You felt Asriel force himself to relax before he turned to Chara and asked “Why not?”  
“It’s different. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go,” they hissed. You nodded in agreement. You were so used to the routine of things that this alternate sequence of events unnerved you. Asriel thought about this for a minute.  
“Well I think it makes sense now that we’ve changed our time of arrival,” Asriel decided. He sat up quickly. “Wait! That means I’m not the prince any more! Chara, what does that mean for us? Chara?” But Chara was already asleep. Asriels snuggled down and eventually you fell asleep too.

***  
Sans sighed when Papyrus finally got out of sight. He leaned up against the bush next to the door leading into the ruins. He had some time to kill, so he decided to take a nap. As he leaned against the bush and looked at the door, something about the pattern on it seemed a little different. He didn’t let it bother him.  
The ruins door creaked open. Sans, waking up, was up on his feet in a second. He was fully prepared to deal with the human about to come through this door. However, what he didn't expect was exactly what happened next, and it prevented him from moving or making a sound for the next few moments.  
A female "Boss Monster", similar to Asgore, stepped out. Hiding behind her were three little people. Two were humans; Sans recognised them as Frisk and Chara. The last was another Boss Monster, only as a kid. It didn't take long for Sans to figure out it was Asriel. As he stood there, shocked, the adult looked at him and immediately turned hostile.  
"I don't know who you are, but you best let us past," she threatened, outstretching her hand towards Sans. Flames danced around her fingertips. "You do not wish to mess with me."  
Of course. This must be Asgore's wife. Sans gave a breathless laugh, raising his hands jokingly.  
"got it, miss. i'm not really in the mood for human-hunting anyway." He opened one eye. In this timeline he’d also spent a while joking through the door to this lady, so hopefully she'd recognise his voice. Sure enough, her face gave it away almost instantly.  
"It's YOU!" she exclaimed happily, instantly lowering her hands. "The one who talks to me through the door!"  
"the very same. if i said i didn't miss ya, that'd be a *fib*ula," Sans' grin grew. Apparently, the not-very-funny pun worked to *break the ice*, and she laughed. Chara just rolled their eyes behind her ‘mother’s’ back. The skeleton didn't respond to their disgust. "Sans. pleased to meet'cha... again."  
"I am Toriel. I am glad we met you first, Sans. Oh, allow me to introduce my children. These are Frisk, Chara and Asriel."  
Sans turned to the kids. If he was shocked or scared, it didn't show. His face took on its neutral look, as if this was a welcome surprise. "nice to meet'cha, kids," he said, his voice unwavering from the cheerfulness and ease he spoke to Toriel with. It made sense, seeing as he'd had enough timelines for practice. Chara was the first to slip into their act as well.  
"Nice to meet you too," they said, and if Sans didn't know better he could swear from their tone they were shy yet had complete faith in their mother's judgement. Frisk and Asriel just nodded or mumbled a hello.  
"look, since you're with a couple of humans i'm guessing you wanna head to the city, and barrier, right?" Sans asked.  
"Well... yes. You won't turn us in, would you?" asked Toriel, carefully hiding the edge in her voice with worry. She really had a knack for acting, Sans gave her that.  
"nah, wouldn't dream of it. but there are a few experienced guardsmen up further that way you'd be wise to avoid," Sans shrugged. “and some that are less experienced,” he added, thinking of his bro.  
Asriel spoke up. "H-how about you help us then? If that's ok." Secretly he gave Sans a sharp look as if to say 'a shortcut'd be nice, thanks'. Sans immediately disregarded that idea.  
"Oh! Yes, please, it would mean so very much to us!" Toriel responded. Sans sighed internally. Well, he couldn't really say no, now could he?  
"sure, i s'pose i've got some free time anyways. follow me," he led the way along the forest path.  
This was going to be a mess, sure, but feeling the burning stares of those kids' eyes on his back... Somehow it filled him with DETERMINATION.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! First chapter finished! I hope this seems like an ok way to go for the plot line. It might seem a little rushed at first but I'll go into further details in the coming chapters, plus you will get some time-out fluff before seriousness. Just for the sake of enjoyment I'll try prolong this story as much as possible because I know the feeling of not having something to read. It's sad. But if you do want to get it over and done with, I'll include a warning at the top of each chapter if it's fluff, so you can know to skip it.  
> I will also be writing from different perspectives each time. If it's in Frisk's perspective, that's second-person. Anyone else's will be third. No first-person writing because I don't particularly like it.  
> Anyway I'd appreciate comments and reviews because like any writer I want to improve my skill, so if at any point you want to leave a really long-ass comment, I appreciate you taking time out to do so! Anyway, that's about all for the first chapter's notes (god I've been rambling) so I hope you enjoyed.  
> Writing this... it fills me with DETERMINATION.  
> F I L E S A V E D


	2. SAVE 1 - Skeleton House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk, Chara and Asriel go to a familiar place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a nice, warm, happy friendly place right???  
> ...  
> .....  
> ..................  
> Sure.
> 
> Also fluff.

Papyrus wasn't exactly sure why he had felt that today was important, but when his brother showed up with a completely unexpected crowd at their front door, and they made themselves at home in his house, he was not the happiest to be receiving a private no-human-hunting lecture from said brother in his room.  
"BUT SANS THERE ARE HUMANS DOWNSTAIRS. HUMANS! THIS COULD BE MY BIG CHANCE TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" he exclaimed for the ninth time that minute. His brother just sighed.  
"look, Pap, i know this doesn't make you happy, and i don't like it either, but can you just trust me on this?" Sans responded.  
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN, BROTHER!" Papyrus could tell this was a case of 'more-than-meets-the-eye', but he still needed a reason for Sans' behaviour. However, Sans was being evasive.  
"that lady, Toriel, she's crazy powerful. if she really tried, i bet even i couldn't beat her in a fight," the brother offered up as a reason. Papyrus didn't buy it completely, but Sans wouldn't just lie about someone being powerful. He decided to just resign and accept that Sans has his reasons for doing things that usually are for the greater good, and as his greater, cooler brother, he wouldn't get in the way of that.  
Papyrus let out a resigned groan. "FINE, BROTHER. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT." Sans seemed happy with that answer, leaving the room. As he was at the door, he paused.  
"thanks bro," he said, "the longer it takes for them to get to the capital, the better."  
Papyrus thought this a cryptic statement worth noting.

***  
The skeletons' house was warm compared to the chill outside. You were already aware of this fact, of course, but it was a welcome constant between timelines. You three kids had taken the leftovers of Toriel's pie with you, aware you would probably need them later but also for comfort. As soon as you got there Sans had dragged Papyrus off for a chat in his bro's room. Toriel had made herself comfortable on the couch. Asriel didn't hesitate on jumping up next to her, but when he did he sunk into the couch so much that no matter how much he squirmed he was stuck. Chara was in fits. You grinned and clambered up next to them, carefully distributing your weight so you didn't sink in, and failing. You fell over into the back, which made you sink even further. Now your shoulders were hardly visible. Toriel laughed, and Chara looked like their sides were going to split, their cheeks flushed more than usual. They eventually got up on the other side of Toriel, and she scooped all three of you into a great, cozy hug. She was so warm.  
"Mom?" you chanced, to see her reaction. She looked at you in surprise.  
"Would you like to call me 'mother'? If it makes you happy, call me whatever you want!" she smiled. You were relieved. It was slightly different to the usual script, but that was ok. You could deal with some little changes, even if they unnerved you.  
You could tell Toriel was itching to ask you about yourselves. You hadn't had the longest conversation together in the Ruins and though you did want to get to know Toriel better, you weren't sure you could say the same for Chara or Asriel. The former flower squeezed your hand, obviously thanking you for the 'mom' thing. You could accept this.

***  
When Papyrus finally came out of his room, he found the kids having snuggle-time with Toriel. After taking a deep breath he walked down the stairs to greet the guests. Toriel looked at him and smiled.  
"Why hello, you must be Papyrus, Sans' brother. It's nice to meet you," she said.  
"IT IS MY PLEASURE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM HONOURED TO MEET THE LEGENDARY VOICE BEHIND THE DOOR," the skeleton responded. Toriel laughed. The goat-kid smiled and the darker-skinned human gave a quiet snort. The lighter one just scowled.  
"Ah, I have yet to introduce you to my children. Asriel, Frisk and Chara," Toriel pointed at each one in turn. Papyrus felt like he'd heard those names before, but he couldn't remember where.  
"WELL," he said, deciding if he couldn't capture them, he'd make 'friends' with them instead. "WOULD YOU LIKE SOMETHING TO DRINK? PERHAPS A HOT COCO?"  
"Oh, that sounds lovely!" Toriel exclaimed after seeing the kids' nodding. Papyrus went to prepare it in the kitchen, thinking all the while. He wasn't sure how to react to the strangers in his house, especially since his bro had brought them here, like an offering to capture them, then told him specifically NOT to do that. When he came out of the kitchen Sans was there, casually talking to them. Mostly Toriel, though, Papyrus noticed. He handed out drinks among the guests, then stood next to his brother.

***  
You all made small talk until it was late. You could tell it was late because you, Asriel, Chara and Papyrus were all yawning, though you personally thought Chara was faking it. Toriel and Sans took the hint.   
"so... sleeping arrangements," he said, shuffling slightly. He obviously hadn't thought of those, and Chara seemed very pleased about his lack of preparation.  
"I CAN MOVE IN WITH MY BROTHER FOR THE NIGHT," Papyrus suggested. Toriel gratefully accepted, and you decided Chara and Asriel should sleep in Papyrus' bed together. After trying to argue, and failing because you insisted and Toriel latched onto the idea in an instant, they reluctantly agreed and headed up. Then Sans and Papyrus went up, Sans shooting you a glare that said 'I know you RESET and I'll find out why tonight.' The door lock clicked behind them. Toriel made herself comfortable on one end of the couch, and you lay across it, head in her lap. She combed your hair with her claws. It was a comforting feeling.  
The nervousness in your stomach as you drifted off to sleep... it filled you with DETERMINATION.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I call this "Happytale?"  
> I'm calling this Happytale.
> 
> Comment, I wanna know what you think!


	3. SAVE 2 - Snowdin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me way too long to write and submit this, but here you go.

Sans opened his eyes. It wasn't really a snap-open sort of opening, but something a little bit down from that. He took a moment to reorient himself until he could properly feel his bones. A faint blue glow shone on the walls, alerting him to the fact his eye was glowing with magic. Carefully he suppressed it, and the room returned to darkness. He rolled over to go back to sleep, since it wasn't morning yet. As he did he realised he was shaking. Not surprising. He remembered everything perfectly now, every one of the past timelines including the latest. He would always dream about them after the kid RESET. What he couldn't piece together was why they did so. It may have had something to do with Chara's and Asriel's sudden appearances in their true forms and the wrong time. He retreated deeper into the blankets and eventually fell asleep.

***  
You woke up the next morning to light filtering through the windows onto the floor. It created shadows along the blue and pink striped carpet. It glinted off the television and into your eyes. You curled further into the soft, comfortable thing beneath your head. Smells like kindness and love. Smells like LOVE. Smells like dust. Betrayal. Loneliness.  
Your eyes snapped open as you stiffened, your breathing getting quicker. A soft paw gently massaged your shoulder. Smells like Toriel. Smells like mom. You relaxed, letting out a long, silent breath full of regret.  
"Are you awake now, my child?" she leaned toward you and asked. You nodded, turning up toward her and smiling. She took a little bit of your hair and curled it around her finger. You relaxed even more, comforted, then startled at a familiar loud voice.  
"THAT IS GOOD, HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL MAKE YOU BREAKFAST!" Papyrus called from the kitchen. You smiled, doubting he'd know what an 'inside voice' was even if you explained it in great detail. Your tight grip on Toriel's dress loosened. You hadn't even realised you were holding it like that. After a moment you sat up properly and Toriel repositioned herself on the couch as you wiped the sleep from your eyes. You and your mother say there in silence, enjoying the morning and the company. After a short while the door to Papyrus' room opened and Chara and Asriel walked out. They joined you downstairs, Toriel fussing over them and asking how their night was. Chara was having none of it and Asriel was obviously flustered by this fact as he covered up for his less-than-pleasant sibling. You started to smell something burning. Probably the kitchen. You suggested Toriel go see what it was. She hastily agreed when she noticed the smell and went to help. Chara almost looked relieved, shooting you some sort of glance for a second before turning away. You weren't quite sure what it meant but were fairly certain it wasn't murderous, so that was an improvement.  
The other door upstairs opened and Sans trudged out. A sense of gloom fell over the house, and even Chara looked a little nervous. Asriel seemed to shrink back into himself, his eyes taking on Flowey's menacing glare. You shifted in your seat. As Sans made his way down the stairs, you could see the glow of blue seeping out of his left eye. Both of them were closed, and you didn't doubt he didn't need them in his own home. Fear welled up in your gut. He paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked directly at the three of you. His left eye was glowing bright blue, but his normal, grinning expression was being expertly held in place. The eye was the only hint that he was angry in the slightest, but it in itself terrified you.  
"Alright, I'm gonna skip the small talk and go straight to the obvious question," he started. You shuddered. His threatening voice still chilled you. "Why'd ya RESET, kiddo?"  
"Uhm, duh, US!" Chara chimed, pointing to them and Asriel. Sans rolled his eyes.  
"I know. That wasn't the point of the question." You shrank back into the couch with a shiver. You were scared.

***  
Sans woke up again, having slept a little better for not long at all. Pap wasn't in his bed, so it was past morning. He lay in bed for a long time, considering whether getting up was really worth it. He didn't want to go back down. He didn't want to see the kid he'd trusted, nor the one who killed him all those times. Nor the weed. If he had skin he was sure it would be crawling right now. Even the thought of that thing was horrid. Sans shook his head and slapped himself a few times.  
Flo- Asriel was the (former) beloved prince of the kingdom and son of Toriel and Asgore. Chara was his adored sibling and the (former) first human to fall. And Frisk was Frisk. They had to have a reason to RESET and SAVE those two. Right?  
He eventually managed to drag himself out of bed. He grabbed his hoodie and pulled it on, retreating for a moment into the fluff. It reminded him of his mother. The feeling was comforting.  
When Sans walked out of his room, he saw the kids on the couch. He closed his eyes to hide how mad he was, noting the voices coming from the kitchen. Papyrus and Toriel must be there. He turned onto the stairs. Good, he didn't have to worry about confusing them. All of his anger and magic was condensing in his left eyesocket, despite his attempts to suppress it. Even better. But he wouldn't let himself hurt the kid, that would be counterproductive. He pulled himself into the neutral expression he'd had so many timelines to practice, and opened his eyes to the kids. He saw Frisk visibly flinch. Somewhere inside, it pained him to see that. He loved the kid he knew from the Pacifist timelines. Knowing that Chara was the one who'd been in control during the Genocide timelines didn't help. His feelings were so conflicted, though, it hurt to think about it.  
He kept his tone level as he looked right at Frisk and said, "Alright, I'm gonna skip the small talk and go straight to the obvious question." Sans almost flinched when Frisk shuddered, not meaning for his voice to be so cold. He continued, "Why'd ya RESET, kiddo?"  
"Uhm, duh, US!" Chara scoffed, pointing at them and Asriel. Sans wanted nothing more than to pound both of them into the ground, but that'd make interaction with his friends a problem and Frisk would probably load a SAVE anyway. He fought back his annoyance.  
"I know. That wasn't the point of the question." Frisk shrank into the couch. Sans felt terrible and satisfied at the same time. He needed a moment to sort out his now-conflicting emotions.  
"Breakfast is ready, dears!" Toriel said, coming out of the kitchen with pancake stacks. He panicked a bit, beating down his magic until his eyes returned to their normal state. Toriel didn't seem to notice, but Papyrus shot him a concerned look. He shrugged it off to his brother with a wink, but even though Papyrus wasn't buying it, the cooler brother moved on with surprising ease. Sans doubted Papyrus was ever one to hold a grudge, especially when his bro never seemed to dislike anyone no matter what they did. Even the murderer.

***  
You gratefully accepted the pancakes offered to you, managing to keep yourself from shaking. You were thankfully past the point of bolting out of the skeletons' home at the first chance. Chara had restored their façade, and Asriel was obviously fighting to become himself again, rather than the soulless husk that was Flowey. Toriel sat down and began eating, encouraging you to eat since you could barely touch your food. You'd lost your appetite, and when Sans next spoke you had to use all of your DETERMINATION to not jump in fright.  
"nah bro, i think i'll have somethin' to eat at grillbz'" he said, passing up the plate of pancakes.  
"SANS, KETCHUP IS NOT A PROPER BREAKFAST! YOU NEED TO START EATING BETTER!" Papyrus complained.  
"s'fine. i'll be right back," Sans responded, walking out. You felt bad for it, but you were relieved he was gone. You felt much safer now he was gone, especially since you were with Chara and Asriel.  
"So, my children, dear Papyrus here has offered to show me around town. Would you like to come?" Toriel asked, finishing your food. Asriel had long downed his, but you and Chara hadn't touched the stuff. Toriel patted your back gently. You looked at Chara and Asriel. Asriel nodded his head enthusiastically but Chara shook theirs. Looks like the choice was up to you. You were scared of annoying Chara but you wanted to go explore town with Toriel and Papyrus, even though you knew your way around already. You turned back to Toriel and nodded.  
"Wonderful!" Toriel exclaimed with a smile. "We shall go when we have cleaned up." She and Papyrus took your plates to the kitchen to wash up. You shifted uncomfortably as Chara gave you a death stare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go. Honestly I thought I'd already posted this chapter so I apologise for the delay, but the good news is I've finished the next chapter! I'll delay its posting to when chapter 5 is almost done.  
> Another thing that's been stopping me from writing so much is exams and assignments, so now that they're mostly done I should be able to get back to writing more often.
> 
> On an unrelated note, I bought and played Overwatch for five hours straight on the weekend! It was a good day.


	4. SAVE 3 - The Friendly Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nngh welp here it is chapter 4 yay

The cold bit into your skin unexpectedly as you stepped outside. The snow crunched beneath your feet, and you wondered for the billionth time why there was snow in the Underground. Magic, you suspected. It seemed to explain quite a lot here, actually, or at least that’s the only explanation for the stranger things that you could get. You shivered in your jumper, remembering the knit fabric had never really been warm enough in Snowdin. Asriel seemed to be having the same problem. He shivered and stepped closer to Chara for warmth, who just rolled their eyes. Toriel pulled you closer to her and rubbed your arm to warm it up. You leaned in to her. The walk through the snow as much better with Toriel here. You wondered how she was keeping warm in that short dress, but figured it was something to do with her fur or her magic. You stopped outside the Library, and grinned when Papyrus announced how the sign was misspelt. He was almost like a tour guide, leading you around Snowdin. When you went inside the Librarby, it was comfortingly warm. Toriel immediately struck up a conversation with the owner, so you wandered over to the bookshelves. Chara and Asriel were searching through them already, seemingly looking for something in particular. You asked what they were looking for.  
"Us," Chara replied simply. When you raised an eyebrow, Asriel explained, "there used to be a book about monster history that had the story of the Fallen Human in it here. I read it a few times as a flower."  
"I want to read it," Chara said. You decided to help them look for the book, looking along the shelves at each title. There were a few interesting ones that seemed to be fictional stories, but knowing that monsters existed you couldn't tell whether they were or weren't any more. There were also some... strange book titles you'd rather not name. Or hear of again. Why did monsters need books for that!?  
After a while you all gave up on finding a history book that had Chara and Asriel in it. The one book you did find had plenty of information about the war and the sealing away of the monsters, but neither of the two made an appearance. Eventually you all decided to move on. It was getting close to lunch, so Papyrus suggested you buy something at the shop. You tried to argue that none of you had any money, but as it happens Papyrus seemed to have quite a lot, actually. He all bought you a cinnamon bunny, after having a nice conversation with the shopkeeper. Despite the cold, you all ate outside near the tree in the middle of town. You asked the bear 'organising' the presents about the Christmas-like tradition, and smiled sympathetically for the poor Gyftrot's struggles. You met Monster Kid again, and he remarked that you were definitely a kid because of your striped shirts. Then you found yourself outside of Grillby's. You couldn't bring yourself to even look inside, and watched Chara and Asriel press their faces up against the glass to look around as Papyrus complained how his brother was always here, and how the food was so unhealthy. You didn't really listen, instead moving closer to Toriel again. After a while you all made your way back to the skeleton house, glancing at the mysterious shed to the right of it on your way inside.

***  
Chara sat cross-legged on the floor with the untouched plate of spaghetti in front of them. Asriel was leaning on their shoulder, and they couldn't tell whether he was awake or asleep. They looked up at Frisk lying across the couch with their head on Toriel's lap, asleep. Chara thought Frisk was pretty cute when they slept. At least they didn't snore like Asriel. Chara still couldn't understand how Frisk had eaten Papyrus' cooking so quickly, because the last time they'd tried it Sans had been right; definitely not edible. Chara fiddled with the spaghetti on their plate, still not eating. Toriel was stroking Frisk's head and talking to Papyrus with a smile. Chara wasn't really interested, honestly, until one question caught her attention.  
"SO HOW DID YOU MEET MY BROTHER?" Papyrus asked Toriel. Chara had never actually heard the story, though Frisk seemed to know somehow. Maybe Sans had told them? Chara listened curiously.  
"Oh, well, I met him through a joke," Toriel said in a reminiscent tone. Papyrus positively HID his enthusiasm, groaning. Toriel smiled, saying, "he knocked on the Ruins door one day, practicing his knock knock jokes I assume. So I responded. He told the best joke I had heard in a long time. It reminded me of..." Toriel frowned, trailing off. "Strange, I can't remember who it reminded me of." This caught Chara's interest.  
"SOMEONE HORRIBLE TO KNOW, I GUESS," Papyrus answered in a frustrated tone. Toriel smiled sympathetically at Papyrus. Chara frowned. Who other than Sans said horrible jokes all the time? They couldn't think of anyone off the top of their head. They frowned, mapping out the possibilities. Maybe it was someone from another timeline who had just ceased to exist after Frisk's most recent reset? That was possible, but disturbing. After some thought, Chara disregarded the idea completely, reasoning it was too 'wrong' for this new timeline to be imperfect.  
Yes, that was it, all the other timelines had been imperfect. Toriel was always meant to have a short dress, and Sans' hoodie was supposed to be a pullover rather than a jacket. Chara blinked hard. Why were they relying on Sans as an example when he could even remember the other timelines? They snapped out of their thoughts when Asriel started to talk.  
"Can we go to bed now? We're tired," he asked Toriel, inclining his head slightly towards Frisk in example. She nodded, and reluctantly agreed to him insisting you two swap sleeping arrangements for the night, or it would be unfair for her and Frisk. The latter woke up for enough time to groggily say goodnight and get upstairs into Papyrus' room. Chara had personally been uncomfortable sleeping in the room of someone they had murdered. Papyrus went upstairs to fetch some blankets for them and Asriel, and as their brother got comfortable on the couch Chara made a bed with the blankets. It was nice, and reminded them of how the warmth of their old house was much nicer than this cold place. It reminded them of how the bedsheets had curled gently around them. How their mother's dress had been so soft. How that lonely red scarf had fluttered around their fingers before they stamped it into the ground for Sans to find later. Their red eyes glittered and a twisted grin crawled across their face in the dark.  
It filled them with DETERMINATION.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh this took way too long for me to write and I've sorta half-done chapter 5 already but still I feel bad for not having a consistent upload schedule.  
> I swear I'll improve over the holidays school has been killing me for the past few weeks.  
> Anyway that's done I swear the next chapter is better.


	5. SAVE 4 - Waterfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp it's been ages since I posted so uh... here ya go???

Sans hadn't returned to the house at all that night, according to Papyrus. Despite your fear of the skeleton, you were a little worried about him. Chara dismissed his behaviour as him just being him and even likened it to his extended absence when they'd killed Papyrus. Fortunately they said so when both Toriel and Papyrus were out of earshot, but it still left a cold, regretful feeling in your chest. Toriel had decided that you should all start making your way to Waterfall, and Papyrus agreed to be your guide. None of you argued, even though you, Chara and Asriel probably knew your way around better than anyone else.  
You were prepared for the icy blast of air when you next stepped outside, and found yourself wondering if Sans' pet rock has enough food to last a while as you looked back into the warm house. You snuggled back into Toriel, and your group began to walk. You started to feel sick when you passed the place Papyrus confronted you every time, and even more so when you saw Chara's smirk and the way they confidently walked through the mist as if the knife was in their - your - hand again. It sent a shiver through your body and made you cling to Toriel's dress even tighter. You crossed the little bridge into Waterfall. Almost instantly the biting cold was replaced by a chilly humidity that put marshes in the Overworld to shame (you'd gotten into the habit of calling it the Overworld to help differentiate between places. Chara disapproved, saying it didn't matter WHERE anything was, more so what that where was called, they'd still destroy everything). Your favourite place in the Underground was still Waterfall, but you couldn't remember why exactly. You walked past the first Echo Flower and Sans' 'dog stand, noticing that he wasn't there. Papyrus stopped to explain that this was actually Sans’ second sentry stand to Toriel, and while nobody was looking Asriel raided it. Chara was standing over at the Echo Flower, getting the little “tutorial” on how it worked and then whispering something in it that you assumed would be a scary practical joke. You glanced at the ceiling and spied a few glittery rocks as you walked over to Monster Kid and started to talk to them.  
“Hey! You’re a kid, right? I can tell because you’re wearing a striped shirt!” they said to you. You nodded with a smile, pointing at their striped sweater. “Yeah! Me too! Hey, are you sneaking out to see Undyne too? She’s the coolest right!? I wanna be just like her when I grow up!” You grinned at their enthusiasm, and leaned slightly over the edge of the cliff to look into the darkness. The intense black reminded you of Sans’ eyes when he was mad, and that thought sent a shudder through your body. “It’s pretty deep, don’t fall down!” Monster Kid said beside you, and you saw them also leaning over the edge. You were a little worried for their safety though, since they didn’t have any arms to balance themselves with. You stepped back from the edge and gave them another smile before walking back over to Papyrus and Toriel, who were calling you over. You put Toriel’s pie in the Box before you waded through the flowing waterfall with rocks tumbling down it. On the other side Toriel dried you all off with her fire magic. It was much nicer not having to walk through Waterfall dripping wet and freezing. Chara also seemed calmer after the dry-off, which relaxed you quite a bit. The reeds brushed against your face and in your ears as you almost fought your way through them, then you made it to the first crossing with the bridge seeds. Papyrus instructed you in the operation of the bridge seeds, and although you already knew how to use them it was nice to be guided through the Underground rather than having to figure everything out yourself. This only applied to your pacifist runs, you accidentally reminded yourself, because Flowey had been there to deactivate traps and keep you from wasting too much time or effort on anything. The thought of those runs had made you seize up.  
"My child, are you nervous about crossing the bridge?" Toriel asked you politely. You shook your head a little too fiercely, trying to shake away the darker thoughts.  
"DON'T WORRY HUMAN! THESE ARE PERFECTLY SAFE! SEE, YOUR SIBLINGS ARE ALREADY ON THE OTHER SIDE!" You looked over at Asriel and Chara, who were giving you looks. You crossed the bridge quickly, embarrassed. You all continued on to the next room, and before Papyrus could instruct you what to do here, you'd already grabbed a Bridge Seed and were taking it over to the far right of the room. Chara didn't know what you were doing, but Asriel realised pretty quickly. He joined you, and together you crossed the little bridge and made it to the lonely bench with a quiche underneath it. You took the quiche and listened to the Echo Flower. You wondered again who it was that hadn't been ready for the responsibility. What weren't they ready for, exactly? Would they ever be ready? The voice from the Echo Flower, although badly recorded and slightly distorted, reminded you of someone. You decided you'd figure out later as you crossed the bridge back to the others. Papyrus rang the bell to call back the Bridge Seeds and you all finished the puzzle properly this time. When you got into the next room, Papyrus seemed confused.  
"STRANGE, I REMEMBER THERE BEING AN EXIT TO THIS ROOM," he said. You walked over to the telescope, carefully checking the rim of it for paint first. When you were sure it was clear, you looked through and aimed it at the clusters of crystals on the roof. The message was still written on the lens, so you walked up the path mentioned. Chara and Asriel followed suit confidently, and Toriel and Papyrus watched. Asriel knocked on the wall.  
"Fake wall," he grinned at Chara, who was giving him a questioning look. You noticed that he acted differently than he had before he became Flowey or after you SAVEd him. He seemed to have more confidence. Chara nodded vaguely, then pushed the wall down.  
"WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING!! YOU ARE EXCELLENT PUZZLE-SOLVERS!!" Papyrus exclaimed. You flinched at the familiar line from before you killed him. Looks like some things still stuck. You pushed away the guilty, sick knot in your stomach by focusing on the signs on the walls, your eyes glancing across the familiar words you’d read before, as your footsteps echoed off the wooden boardwalk you’d stepped out on. When you reached the river with the one little ‘boat’ to cross it, Toriel was rather concerned about safety crossing. However, when Papyrus crossed perfectly on his own and pushed the raft back to you, she stayed behind as you, Chara and Asriel went one-by-one across the gap. She followed last, making sure you were completely and utterly dry on the other side. Her warm-up was comforting as you nervously made your way down the long boardwalk where Undyne had first chased you, and pushed your way through the reeds that had provided you safe cover. You asked to take a break at the next SAVE point, using it to SAVE your progress so far, because you’d discovered that was definitely a worthwhile thing to do at all possible times. Chara and Asriel messed with the Echo Flower and argued over what message they should leave as Papyrus and Toriel scouted ahead. You inspected the crystallised cheese and peeked into the mouse hole, which got you a loud squeak in return. You left your siblings to walk into the next room and get pranked by Sans’ paint telescope again, earning lots of laughs from your siblings at the purple ring around your eye. Toriel tutted with a smile and wiped it off for you, and you proceeded as a group again.  
The next area you went to always took your breath away, and made you remember why you loved Waterfall. The glowing water was a rare magic feat, and you slowed down to take in the sight, enjoying the glowing leaves of the plants near the shore and the lightning bugs flying around. It lifted your mood as you walked along the long walk with water on either side of it and made your way into the clearing. To your disappointment, Shyren was nowhere to be seen as you all continued down to the statue. Asriel and Chara stopped there, and you remembered this was the only place Chara would stop for a while. However, there was too much water for you to hear the jammed music box. Quickly you ran over to the umbrella bucket and brought one back over, setting it up and listening to the familiar music play. You all took umbrellas as you walked down the rainy passageway, and Monster Kid was nowhere in sight. You hoped they were at home, safe and warm, as you walked out into the view of New Home from far away. It was still impressive from here, and Papyrus got you up the problematic ledge with no trouble. You all walked out onto another boardwalk. Actually, now that you looked, it seemed like a maze of boardwalks. And you could hear some slight clanking. Nervously you took a step forward, but when you did a glowing blue circle appeared beneath your feet. You dodged out without thinking about it, and saw Chara and Asriel do the same. You were completely filled with fear, and with shaky legs you took off running. The clanking followed you, and you looked back to see Chara and Asriel on your tail, running from a wall of spears that separated Toriel and Papyrus from you three. You kept running, shoes slipping on the damp boards and your footsteps thudding to your brain. You almost navigated the maze by instinct, and instantly regretted it as you came to the dead end. Your siblings skidded to a stop beside you, seeing the dead end.  
"Idiot, now we're stuck!" Chara shouted over the clanging, being stopped from punching you by Asriel.  
"I-I-I'm s-sorry!" you stuttered as Undyne clanked along the bridge and stopped ten paces away from you. She lifted her spear and cut across the boardwalk. Your stomach dropped before you did, then there was darkness, and a dull pain in the back of your head. Then nothing.

***  
Sans was surprised when his bro flung open the door in panic and almost pounced on top of him, but not surprised enough to move off the couch. He saw Toriel walk in looking extremely worried as the aforementioned bro started to blabber something very very loudly.  
"FRISK... KIDS... WATER... UNDYNE... HOLE... ANYWHERE... LOST... HURT!... ECHO... SO HELP US FIND THEM SANS!!!!" were the only things Sans could understand from what Papyrus was saying, but he wasn't about to respond when his bro was so riled up.  
"bro chill out" he said. Papyrus waved his arms screaming "I CAN'T CHILL OUT!!!" Good, understandable sentences.  
"i'm not helpin' 'till you relax" Sans said. Papyrus gave him a death glare, but eventually gave in and took a deep breath. "so you were in waterfall," Sans started, and Papyrus nodded vigorously. "and undyne was there and she tried to catch the kids," he continued, and Papyrus nodded even harder. Sans thought if he nodded any more his head would come off, then winced at the thought. Shouldn't be thinking about that, think about helping Pap. "so the kids fell down a hole and now they're lost and you're worried they'll get hurt."  
"YES! NOW HELP US FIND THEM!!!" Papyrus shouted, returning to panic mode. Sans shrugged.  
"they'll probably be fine anyway, but sure," he responded. He had no doubts they'd be able to survive that easily. They had before, anyway. He walked with Papyrus and Toriel back to Waterfall, and when they got to the boardwalk Sans leaned over the edge, searching the dark for the kids. They were alright, he was sure, because if they'd been hurt they would've loaded a SAVE and he'd know. Still, Toriel and Papyrus were obviously worried sick about them, so he sighed and started walking away from the edge.  
"SANS WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" Papyrus shouted after him.  
"gonna take the long way round. you keep looking around here," Sans replied, lazily waving his hand at his bro. As soon as he got around the corner, though, he leaned up against the wall and put his hand to his skull. When was the last time Frisk or Chara SAVEd? Had they returned to that SAVE point because they were hurt? Was Sans just dreaming this event? He thought, very decisively, that if he were dreaming he wouldn't be wondering if he was dreaming. Then he pushed off the wall and actually started to walk to find the kids. They were always trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so sorry this took so long I actually had to rewrite the whole chapter since I COMPLETELY forgot what Waterfall looked like. Luckily I managed to figure it out thanks to this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Undertale/comments/3q8vxc/map_of_all_of_undertale_spoilers_for_everything/  
> So huge shoutout to rqaa3721 on reddit there, thanks!
> 
> Also apparently the name "Happytale" was already taken ha ha... so now this is UnderEnding (hey, it's related to the title, shuddup.)
> 
> I'm also in the middle of setting up an Ask Blog on tumblr if anyone wants to ask, that's coming soon? 
> 
> Ok well thanks for reading and cya soon!


	6. SAVE 5 - Undyne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter is a bit clunky I swear it'll be better next chapter...

The flowers that had broken your fall tickled your face and hands as you lay on your back in the flowerbed. Your breathing was relaxed, and you could see through your eyelids whatever light was around you was pleasantly dim. Your cheek twitched as another flower brushed against it, and with a small sigh you opened your eyes and sat up. Asriel was lying in the flowers next to you, still out of it. As your hearing adjusted you turned to look at Chara, who was rifling through the piles of trash in the corridor. If the light was proper here, you were sure you’d be disgusted at how murky the water was and how much was floating around in it. You considered wading through the water to help your sibling, then decided against it, instead rubbing a flower petal between your forefinger and thumb. You dangled your feet halfheartedly in the icy water, trying to get used to it. You almost fell off the flowerbed when Asriel snorted awake, then started coughing. You heard a barely-audible groan from Chara as they turned around to face you two.  
“Come on then lazybones’,” they instructed, sounding less than pleased you both took so long to wake up. “Let’s go.” Reluctantly you pushed off the water-free sanctuary into the wading zone, which made it halfway up your thighs. You shivered at the cold, seeing that the pre-soak obviously hadn’t helped very much. You waded through the squelch, stopping for a bit to SAVE. Chara continued rifling through the piles of junk to see if they could find anything as you made your way amongst the trash, taking some snack bars from the esky. Then you were once again confronted by Mad Dummy. He still terrified you, the way he would explode in anger at the very sight of you, and you entered the first FIGHT you had in this timeline. The feeling of your should being drawn from your body was still uncomfortable, but this time it wasn’t just you. Chara and Asriel had also been put into the FIGHT with you, and you all shared the same battle plane. You dodged the dummies’ magic attacks with little effort, and Chara didn’t even look like they were trying. Asriel had considerably more trouble, and you had to pull him out of the way every now and then. When Mad Dummy switched to his rocket dummies, though, Chara had to take the front line, drawing to rockets away from you and Asriel as you dodged helplessly. Eventually you were saved by a rain of magic tears the came from Napstablook, and he apologised profusely for interrupting you all. You thought you could see something behind his expression, like maybe he wasn’t always so reserved and shy, but he left before you could thank him for saving you. Chara’s vote was that you ignored going to his house and Asriel was too out of breath to argue. You turned right, walking past Gerson’s shop. If you looked to the right you could see the Riverperson’s boat, but they didn’t seem to be there at the moment. It looked to be in its normal form, and you wondered when they would get back to it, or if it somehow needed feeding. You ran your fingers over the words on the signs with history on them. You wondered why they were here, in the lesser populated area of the Underground. You squelched through the shallow waters, re-soaking your already cold and wet feet. They were particularly uncomfortable as you walked into the dark area.  
“Hey Chara, let’s go to the Temmie Village! We haven’t been there in ages!” Asriel suddenly said. You’d only ever been to the Temmie Village once, but found it strangely charming and adorable. Chara groaned, but reluctantly agreed to go, so you navigated the glowing pathways as the grasses tickled your ankles just above your socks. When you got into the Village, the Underground’s atmosphere changed and you couldn’t help but smile. The nearest Temmie greeted you enthusiastically.  
“ HoI!! is TEm!!! DONT fOrGeT tEm fReNd TEm!!!” she spazzed. You grinned and said hi to the second Temmie, who responded with “TEM NaME IS TEM!!! AND Over tHer iS Tem!!!” The third Temmie, without any prompting from you, almost shouted “YEs TEM iS tEM AND TeM HaS TemY FrIENDs LIKE bOb!!!!!!!!!” Asriel laughed. You walked over to Bob and said hi, and he said back, “I want to take a holiday away from here sometime.” You smiled sympathetically and went over to SAVE. Then you went inside the Tem Shop and bought a few Tem Flakes. You didn’t know what you were going to do with them since they were basically just confetti but you were sure if you ran into any Temmies outside the village they’d appreciate it. When you walked outside of the shop and put a few Tem Flakes into the Box, Monster Kid ran into the Village.  
“Yo… dudes there you are! I was worried, y’know, ‘cause I heard you got lost when your adults came running back and now they’re looking for you dudes…” they puffed, regaining his balance after obviously running. Chara groaned but you were glad that he had been worried. Asriel, despite Chara’s blank, disappointed look, went over to help Monster Kid regain their breath.  
“Were you worried that we’d all gone missing?” Asriel asked, voicing the question in your mind. Monster Kid nodded.  
“Yeah dudes, I was like, worried you were hurt or something ‘cause you’re kids like me, yo,” Monster Kid responded with a nod. You smiled a thanks at them.  
“Yeah yeah that’s great. Are we done here, because I’d prefer to keep going now,” Chara grumbled. Monster Kid seemed put off by their mood and you just sighed. Asriel agreed that you should go, so you all made your way through the dark maze. You flinched at the sight of the Echo Flower at the end of the hallway that had said ‘turn around’ in your next Pacifist confrontation with Undyne, and you were glad to already be able to turn left here. Unfortunately, you couldn’t listen to any of the Echo Flowers walking up the next passage, but you were sure you recognised those voices beyond the plant distortion. You guided Monster Kid a way away from the edge of the bridge as you walked across, making sure they didn’t fall this time, and you SAVEd at the next SAVE. When you turned left into the rock pathway, a silhouetted figure stood at the top of the hill. Fear knotted in your stomach and your feet rooted to the ground as the booming voice started its usual speech.  
“Seven. Seven human souls, and **King Asgore** will become a god. Six. That’s how many we have collected thus far. Understand? Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed. Right now, everyone in the Underground…” you frowned at the change of dialogue, “I can feel their hearts beating as one. And we all have ONE goal. To be free. I don’t care WHO you are. For the sake of the Monsters… I, UNDYNE, will take your souls!” She charged and engaged you four in battle.  
You gasped as your soul was jerked from your body, and the familiar music filled your ears. Monster Kid looked around frantically, asking where the hell the music was coming from, but Chara stood firm again. You were all pulled and divided into two sections of the room by the Green Magic, and each given a spear to use as a shield against the spears that started flying at you. Chara and Asriel were together, and you and Monster Kid. Monster Kid picked up the spear with their mouth when they realised you had to use it to block, wanting to help and make a difference, but you blocked most of the attacks as they got faster and faster. Chara and Asriel weren’t having much trouble on their half. You started to grow tired as the bullets got even faster. Then the Green Magic let go of your soul, and you stumbled back just in time for the spear that flew from the left to only tear the sleeve of your jumper. You fell back, almost landing fully on top of Monster Kid, who used their head to prop you up again. You all regrouped in the middle again, freely moving around, as spears appeared and started flying at you at a terrifying pace. However, you were better at dodging than blocking and easily swerved through all of them. Asriel and Chara were just as good, and you all took turns pushing Monster Kid out of the way when he couldn’t keep up. At one point Chara tried to grab on of the spears, but that only resulted in them taking quite a bit of damage. Then you were separated again, Asriel and you on one side and Chara and Monster Kid on the other. You were glad because Chara could block all of the spears for Monster Kid, but then you saw the speed at which they’d spawn. It was close to that of the Genocide timelines, and your heart skipped a beat when you saw a sliver of gold-green coming from behind Undyne’s eyepatch. You were hit more and more by the bullets flying at you, and you'd only just managed to stay alive when the Green Magic unwound itself from your soul, but you were too tired to notice at that point until you saw two spears flying at you from both directions. You stumbled to the right desperately, away from the nearest one, trying to shield yourself with your arms as you started to fall. You shut your eyes, them opened them in surprise when you were caught by someone and both spears failed to hit you. You looked up to see Sans holding you up with his left arm, a row of bones to your left and the top half of a Gaster Blaster to the right. He had caught you and blocked the spears at the same time, and you couldn’t help but be impressed.  
“hey kiddo, you ok?” he asked, turning his head to look at you. You could see him measuring you up but right now you didn’t care, and you nodded gratefully, relaxing in his grip. He hauled you up onto your feet, giving you a pat on the shoulder and said, “let me handle this, ok? Pap and Tori’d kill me if you guys got hurt.” You nodded and backed behind him to your siblings. Chara gave an exasperated sigh and rolled their eyes, clearly not happy about this development, and Asriel was just relieved. Monster Kid, however, was gaping at you and looking between you and Sans.  
“He just stopped an attack from Undyne!!!” they exclaimed. “To help you! That is soooooooo cool, yo!” You nodded and watched Sans walk up to Undyne, who was brandishing the spear threateningly, perfectly calmly.

***  
Sans wasn’t surprised by what he saw when he rounded the corner and found Undyne attacking the kids. Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an understatement, he was a little surprised Undyne would also attack the Monster Kid, but he got over that pretty fast. He wanted to see how the kids could handle this fight, so he watched them block then dodge a hell ton of attacks. Secretly he was impressed, and understood how they’d been able to get through her so fast sometimes. Then the pace of the fight changed, and he noticed the flicker of magic coming from Undyne’s patched eye. She’d only ever use her full power on a genocide run, and when he saw the speed of the bullets he was convinced she was giving it her all, but probably not intentionally. He watched Chara block the spears perfectly, not surprised that they weren’t having trouble with this after so many battles against Undyne, and then looked at Asriel and Frisk fighting. They were certainly having much more trouble, and he felt a little bad for them but decided against interfering. As long as they were alive, that was enough for Toriel and Papyrus, right? And they could always say Undyne found the kids this battered up from someone else fighting them, like the Mad Dummy. But he changed his mind fairly quickly when he saw the Green Magic dissipate, two spears fly across from either direction and Frisk fall over, trying to block them. He didn’t even think about the magic that burned in his left eye as he teleported beside the kid, caught them with his left arm and used his right to build a wall of bones to his left and summon half a Blaster to his right. They blocked the spears with no problem, and his eyes turned back to normal before he turned his head to face the kid dangling from his arm. They looked exhausted, and he felt bad for not stepping in sooner when they gave him a grateful look.  
“hey kiddo, you ok?” he managed to ask, searching their face for any ill intentions behind the mask and finding none. Then he hauled them to their feet, giving them what he hoped was a comforting pat on the shoulder and said, “let me handle this, ok? Pap and Tori’d kill me if you guys got hurt.” When they backed away with a nod, he had to hold in the sigh of relief that had been building up and slowly walked towards Undyne. She brandished the spear threateningly, obviously seething with rage, and Sans almost burst into stitches at the image of her red and steaming angrily.  
“mind not swingin’ that thing around so much pal?” he asked once out of earshot of the kids.  
“What’s it mean to you, huh!?” Undyne responded with her usual aggressiveness, but obviously getting the memo not to be too loud about it. She waved the spear even more, saying, “I’ll swing this thing however much I want, it _is_ mine!”  
Sans shrugged. Couldn’t argue with logic like that. Still, he had to stop her before Papyrus and Toriel got here, or there’d be hell to pay. “alright well i’ll be simple about this; the queen kinda adopted these kids and she’s gonna be reeeeeally mad if they don’t make it back home in one piece.” Undyne gave him a skeptical look, but lowered the spear a bit.  
“So what do I care about this!?” she asked angrily, glaring at Sans. Sans’ grin grew as he summoned all the magic that he could into his left eye and let it burn. Undone seemed put off enough by this gesture to dissipate her spear and stand down with an annoyed ‘fine’. Sans sighed in relief, then Toriel and Papyrus made it around the corner and hugged the kids. Sans and Undyne made their way over to them, but before Undyne could apologise Sans made up his own explanation when Toriel asked what had happened.  
“we found ‘em like this, probably beat by some other monster. well, Undyne found ‘em first and kept ‘em protected ‘till i got here,” he lied. He felt bad for lying, and Undyne was obviously not happy with it, but he couldn’t risk turning the queen’s anger against one of the strongest warriors in the whole Underground. Besides, it made Papyrus much happier and the kids seemed content to just go along with it.   
“What now, then? We need to get you children patched up!” Toriel asked. Sans was about to suggest something when Papyrus interrupted.  
“HOW ABOUT UNDYNE’S HOUSE? IT’S NOT VERY FAR AWAY AND WITH UNDYNE’S PROTECTION IT WILL BE EXTREMELY SAFE!” the taller brother decided. Sans was about to argue but Toriel agreed. Welp, beggars can’t be choosers. Undyne gave Sans the stinkiest stink-eye as they walked to her place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans is, in fact, extremely good at the stink-eye


	7. SAVE 6 - Grillby's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slightly shorter chapter I did because I had a bit extra free time.  
> I hope it's easier to read?

You took the cup of tea with shaky hands, not even daring to look at the person who gave it to you. That person was Undyne, and you were sitting on the floor of her house at the moment. You were still absolutely terrified of her, but not just because of what had happened earlier today. But not matter how many times she terrified you with her crazy power or brute strength, you always did feel in awe. When you got to her house, Toriel had noticed that there weren’t enough chairs at the table for all of you. Undyne said that wouldn’t be a problem, and simply flipped the table on its side into the wall (taking great care not to hit the over-sized sword leaning there, of course). She’d then offered you all tea (thank god you didn’t have to go through a bunch of other options by pointing with a spear this time) and brewed you some anyway no matter if you said yes or no. You smiled a bit, letting yourself enjoy her over-enthusiastic personality. You’d missed it.

You hissed in pain, your eyes stinging, as Toriel dabbed another one of your scratches with some sort of antiseptic Chara had found in the garbage piles. You hadn’t noticed how many cuts and bruises you got from your fall and FIGHT, and you winced at the thought of it. You glanced at Sans, who was drinking his tea with a nonchalant expression. You frowned, wondering how he’d lied so easily to the others. When you looked at Undyne, you could tell she was uncomfortable with it as well, if not from the fact she was almost staring daggers into his skull. Sans was pretending not to notice.

“Ahem,” Undyne cleared her throat. “Sans, can we have a chat?” she asked in the most polite voice an extremely-irritated-warrior-treating-prey-and-friends-for-the-sake-of-a-liar could. Sans shrugged and said “sure.” Undyne hissed “Over here maybe,” and took a few paces away from the group. Sans shrugged again, stood up, and walked over. You were pretty sure you knew what they were going to talk about and hoped that Undyne had the social decency to recognise this was not a time to raise her voice too much.

You looked over at the others. Papyrus momentarily confused about Undyne and Sans’ private conversation, then he continued talking to Toriel. Asriel was eating monster food to heal himself, and Chara was trying to mooch as much as they could off him without letting their injuries heal too much to be suspicious. Toriel was dabbing at your scratches with the antiseptic, because nobody had figured out by now that monster food works on humans. You let the matter rest, since it would be strange for you to know in the context and Chara insisted anyway. 

"Is that ok, my child?" Toriel asked concernedly. You nodded reassurance and she patted you on the head, then beckoned Chara over. They were obviously less than enthusiastic, but scooted over anyway. As you moved out of their way they gave you an annoyed scowl. Sans and Undyne came back over, having finished their conversation. Undyne nervously cleared her throat.

“Apologies for the rough introduction. My name is Undyne. Sans tells me you’re Asgore’s wife?” she asked, holding out her hand to Toriel in a handshake. Your adopted mother bristled at mention of Asgore’s name but quickly brushed it off with a smile, shaking Undyne’s hand.  
“Yes. It is a pleasure to meet you… ?” she responded with a questioning glance.

“Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard,” the fish-person responded proudly. “I understand you are trying to get to the Barrier?”

“Yes, and I was wondering if you could, seeing as you live in Waterfall, guide us through this area,” Toriel asked. It was phrased like a polite question but her tone indicated it wasn’t. Undyne could obviously tell that much.

“Oh of course! But perhaps not right now,” Undyne suggested, gesturing to you, Chara and Asriel. “Perhaps tomorrow after they’ve had a rest?” Toriel seemed happy with the agreement and nodded. Papyrus looked confused, obviously not reading in-between the lines, and Sans just looked impressed. You asked him about this on the way back to the skeletons’ house.

“well kiddo, not just anyone can make undyne stand down, y’know?” he winked. You managed to suppress a shudder at the thought. You knew that far too well from past experience. Chara had probably overheard what Sans had said, because they scoffed.

When you got back to the skeletons’ house, Papyrus offered to make some spaghetti for dinner. As much as the thought of food enticed you, you really didn’t want to have to eat that stuff again. Sans politely declined the offer, though, by simply making his way out the door.  
“BROTHER, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” asked Papyrus.

“goin’ ta grillby’s” was the only response. Thinking quickly, you snuck out behind Sans when Toriel and Papyrus weren’t looking. As you left you noticed Chara huff in your general direction. You trump through the snow as it chills your feet through your shoes - you need to get better shoes somehow - and catch up to Sans. He seems surprised when you grab on his sleeve and bend over to catch your breath, already shivering.

“hey kid, d’ya wanna come with?” he asks, confused, and you nod. Even after last time, Grillby’s sounded really good right now, especially since you were starving. His grin widened a bit and he let you lean on him for the remainder of the walk. You didn’t say anything to each other as you ate, but he didn’t pull the same ketchup prank on you again. You figured it was either him sympathising with you not having any food for ages or him just being afraid that Chara’d get mad if you told them.

“hey kid” Sans said, interrupting your train of thought. “remember flowey?” You raised an eyebrow, then frowned at him. You were travelling with Asriel, so of course you remembered Flowey. As if he was reading your mind, Sans shook his head. “not asriel, just flowey flowey” he replied. You were really confused now. Sans ordered two serves of fries, what you’d asked for last time but never got to eat. He was silent until Grillby gave you your order, then he started explaining again. “apparently even though asriels back to normal, flowey still exists as a different being now. so weve got a flower that wont turn into asriel ever running around, kinda like he’s pre-programmed” he finished explaining. You had to focus so your raw didn’t go slack. That didn’t sound good at all. You opened your mouth to ask whether Sans had seen Flowey himself, but the skeleton cut you off. “just keep an eye out, k?” 

You finished your meal in silence.

***  
Sans didn’t want to go into the specifics of the event earlier, that much was obvious to himself. And he knew it was obvious to the kid, too. He could feel the gears in his mind turning, but they kept avoiding that one thought. Shit, he even stopped the kid from asking about it for all he knew. Still, he couldn’t avoid that particular train of thought as he lay in bed later, trying to ignore the strange circumstances. He’d been walking around Waterfall when he got to the view of New Home. God the King was terrible with names. Then he’d noticed a familiar yellow flower sitting on the ground in front of him, also looking at the view. After a moment, Flowey turned to look at him with a scowl.

“Smiley trashbag,” he hissed. Sans glanced around, then raised his eyebrow at Flowey.

“so uh, thought you were in snowdin sleeping, kid. unless you’re not the kid” he said. Flowey raised his eyebrow, then grinned. Sort of. It was actually kinda hard to tell when his face was an unholy mixture of smile, scowl and general hatred for the world at once. Sans decided it was a grin. 

“Who’s ‘the kid’? What am I missing here?” Flowey asked. “Oh, Asriel? I wouldn’t dream of copying someone so weak, don’t worry,” Flowey cocked his head to the side, grinning venomously. Sans raised his eyebrow, remaining impassive. “Don’t worry, I’m just here to do what I always do. _Take the human souls and win._ ” With that, the Flower disappeared underground. After that, Sans had kicked over the small mound of dirt he left and sat down to look at New Home. What a terrible name that was.

Sans rolled over in his bed. Ok, sure, the flower was probably just as harmless as he had been before, except he probably wasn’t because with Asriel inside him, if he managed to get hold of all the monster souls there would be no way to get out. Asriel had been the one to break the barrier after all, right? Sans took a moment to calm down. Without Asriel inside him, there was no cause for personal revenge, and he wasn’t really sentient any more. On the other hand, he didn’t have any emotional connection to anyone here and therefore could od much more damage without guilt.

It would be fine. Asriel'd only beat Sans through surprise attacks or his boss-monster magic. A pure Flowey wasn’t going to be a problem. Right?


	8. SAVE 7 - Castle View

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHhh! 
> 
> Alright so thank you everyone who actually still reads this story, I love you!
> 
> I'm finally back! This is a relatively short chapter but I'm starting to get into the swing of writing.
> 
> In the meantime, if I'm finding it hard to focus my "creative energy" I'll create a shitfic to deal with inspiration. Don't expect too much from me though!
> 
> Anyway, sorry I haven't written anything in AGES, I'm just starting to get my motivation back now.

It was an understatement to say you were nervous.

You didn’t like sleep, generally. You’d have nightmares more and more often through the more recent runs and sometimes between RESETs, until you no longer slept at all. You didn’t need too. It didn’t take too long to clear the Underground any more, you were so practiced. But while your body’s energy was replenished every time you RESET, you remained mentally exhausted. It hurt. You stopped thinking about the nightmares, even though you were still tired from a relatively sleepless night.

No, you didn’t like sleep, but this time you woke up with a giant pit in your stomach. It was bad enough to dream about what you did, but when you dreamt about one of the greatest ass-beatings in your life, and it was from the person who was acting as your guide and guard today, it didn’t help. You were constantly jumpy as you got up and got ready to go. When you left Snowdin you felt uncomfortable about it, hoping, wanting the peaceful village to be safe for you again. Chara ignored your problems, Asriel gave you nice smiles and pats on the back when nobody was looking. Papyrus and Toriel didn’t notice, and if Sans did he certainly didn’t say anything.

The knot in your stomach twisted and dropped in fear when you saw the same person from your nightmare the previous night standing just inside the entrance to Waterfall, leaning up against the wall in wait. She flashed your group a big grin when she saw you.

“So, welcome back to Waterfall!” she said enthusiastically, as if she was completely happy with being in the presence of an incredibly terrifying Queen and helping the very people she was meant to be capturing. Toriel thanked her once again for agreeing to guide you all through Waterfall, and Papyrus did his usual thing. Sans just stood off to the side grinning. You didn’t feel so good. When you are about to set off, he caught your eye and winked at you. You subconsciously walked next to him from there, feeling safer with him to guard you.

As you walk through Waterfall, you appreciate the scenery a little more than you did last time. You’re also on the lookout for Flowey, so you notice a few things a bit “off” about Waterfall. A clump of weeds. Another pathway blocked off. Other paths that weren’t there before. You don’t investigate. Things were always slightly different, slightly off, and a little unfamiliar each RESET, you knew that much. But Flowey still being here, despite you travelling with Asriel? Toriel, and any of the other monsters, had no recollection of Asriel or Chara having been here before, so logically they hadn’t, so Flowey had never existed. Right? You weren’t convinced.

There was a brief something, just from the corner of your eye, on the wall to your left. But when you looked back, it was gone. Chara was busy pouting, Asriel was busy talking to Papyrus, but Sans was also looking back at the spot, unsettled. You tugged his jumper, tilting your head as if to ask what that was. He shrugged, and you asked him what was wrong. “dunno kid.” was all he said.

The ground was pitch-black and slightly damp, just enough so your feet sank were slightly cushioned but not so much so they sank right in. Crossing the small, black plank bridge, nervously of course, you watched the turquoise glowing below, bubbles floating along it with lily pads and reeds reaching out, the tops glowing with little tips of blue. The trees to the left glowed all along their parks and in the lowest trees and branches, and the tips of grass shone around a well-walked path through the maze of land and water. The Echo Flowers whispered quietly as you passed them. The glow of the water was beautiful, and you wondered how it worked. Maybe you’d ask Alphys, she’s bound to know. Onionsan peeked out of the water behind you, and you gave them a little wave. You all stopped for a break in the next clearing, barely noticing Chara and Asriel going ahead (“but not too far!” Toriel insisted), and instead flopping down on the ground and leaning against the wall.

“My child, is everything alright?” Toriel asked, crouching next to you. You nodded, insisting you were fine. “You can tell me if anything is wrong, I’ll understand,” she said. You felt like telling her how tired you were, how many RESETs had drained your energy so much, but you couldn’t bring yourself to it. She wouldn’t see you as the loving child she wanted so much to protect any more. You just wanted her to be mum, not that loving, caring, hoping lady who’d tried so hard to protect you. Who bore a scratch along her cheek and a look of betrayal as she turned to dust. You didn’t want to think about that. Chara and Asriel ran off onto the path to the left. You just wanted her to be mum. That was it. She asked you one more time if you were ok. You nodded yes and gave her your most convincing smile.

“WHAT IS THAT SOUND?” Papyrus wondered aloud. You all fell silent, listening carefully. From the pathway to the left of the clearing, lonely notes were ringing out. The soft echo of a piano being played. E B A E G#-E-G# A, E A E G#-E-G# A, E B A E G#-E-G# A, E A C# B A B. You recognised it as the song from the music box down the hall, and you stood up to go see who was playing it. Toriel, Undyne, Sans and Papyrus joined you, and you saw Asriel leaning up against the wall as Chara sat at the piano there, playing out the song from the music-box statue. You couldn’t help but smile. Asriel and Chara had found wonder in that music coming from the statue in the rain, long ago.

“Wow, kid, I had no idea you could play!” Undyne obviously couldn’t help from commenting, which startled Chara slightly and made them stop playing. They turned around to see their audience, and for a moment their confident and happy façade disappeared, replaced by a small, nervous child in want of a family. For that half second you wondered; why had Chara come to Mt Ebott. Had they had family back then that missed them when they were gone? What would everyone be like if they hadn’t come down?

If they hadn’t come down… there as a thought there you should’ve paid more attention too. But Chara was back to their defensive, faked self.

“Let’s keep going,” they said. Nobody bothered to argue, instead all walking right past the statue without its umbrella up, completely silent. Maybe Chara and Asriel found it like that a minute ago, and left it, or maybe they took the umbrella off. You all gathered umbrellas at the stand, walking along the long passage, rain pattering on the cover above your head.

You walked out of the tunnel onto the small plateau looking out at the castle, ‘stars’ gleaming in the roof of the underground above you. The castle was distant, greyed walls topped with blue parapets resting on a great piece of earth, suspended with magic, hovering over a sea of greyish-blue mist covering whatever might be below. It was still a breathtaking sight, no matter how many times you visited this place. Chara sat down on the edge of the cliff dropping down to be swallowed into the mist, and Asriel sat beside them. As the ‘rain’ pattered gently on the umbrellas you all held, you joined them, and the whole group quietly took a rest here.


End file.
